Spirited bidding was the order of the night during the first session of the 2011 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale at Belmont on Wednesday night.
A strong local, interstate and international buying bench went head to head on a quality line up of yearlings with over $3.58 million traded on 77 yearlings.
The average price for the night rounded out at $46,500 with a clearance rate of over 75.4 per cent. These figures were similar to last year’s opening session which turned out to be the strongest of the 2010 auction.
The session topper came early when lot 4 – a filly by Street Sense from the Melbourne Cup winner Jezabeel was purchased by Justin Bahen for $200,000.
The beautifully bred filly will head to Melbourne and she will join the stables of Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate winning horseman Mark Kavanagh.
The Street Sense-Jezabeel filly was one of seven yearlings to sell for $100,000 or more at the opening session of the auction.
“As was the case on the Gold Coast in January, quality yearlings attracted strong interest from buyers,” Magic Millions Acting Managing Director David Chester reported.
“It was pleasing to see the average, gross and clearance rates hold up to last year’s first session.”
“Last year’s first session was the strongest of the auction and last year’s Session One to Three rounded out with an average price of about $41,000 – so it’s heartening to be ahead of that at this stage.”
“We had buyers from many states around the country and it was good to see some first time visitors to the Perth sale like Leon Macdonald and David Jolly among successful buyers tonight.”
“There are some top prospects to be sold over the coming days – so buyers have plenty of time to find their next racetrack star.”
The second session of the auction commences at 3pm (WA time) tomorrow (Thursday) prior to the third session at the same time on Friday.
The popular Magic Millions Perth Raceday will be staged at the Ascot Racecourse on Saturday with quality fields in the two feature Magic Millions events.
SESSION ONE STATISTICS
(2010 Session One in Brackets)
Lots Sold: 77 (81)
Session Gross: $3,580,500 ($3,847,500)
Average Price: $46,500 ($47,500)
Median Price: $40,000 ($40,000)
Top Price: $200,000 ($230,000)
Lots Withdrawn: 8 (5)
Lots Passed: 25 (24)
Lots Catalogued: 110 (110)
Sold %: 75.5 (77)
SESSION ONE TOP SELLERS
$200,000 – Street Sense-Jezabeel filly
Vendor: Distinct Racing & Breeding Pty Ltd / Buyer: Bahen Bloodstock (Vic)
$150,000 – Exceed and Excel-No Questions colt
Distinct Racing & Breeding Pty Ltd / Donna Riordan (WA)
$120,000 – Lonhro-Misguiding filly
Korilya Stud (As Agent) / Neville Parnham (WA)
$100,000 – General Nediym-Merrier colt
Newhaven Park (As Agent) / Heinrich Bloodstock (Qld)
$100,000 – Bel Esprit-Miss Discretion colt
Cape Falls Thoroughbreds / Jason Warren Racing (Vic)
$100,000 – Viscount-Paris Petard filly
Oakland Park Stud / Magic Millions as agent (WA)
